Too much snow has slowed down Ski Bluewood

DAYTON, WA - With all this snow we're getting in the mountains, skiers and snowboarders are having a good season...but only if they can get up there.

Today, Ski Bluewood had to close a majority of their trails because of weather problems. Reporter Mackenzie Maynard was up there today to check it out.

It was a slow day at Ski Bluewood as the chairlifts completely stopped, and that's because of the weather with all the snow we've been getting. It has its benefits but can also cause problems, making today not so good.

Since Sunday, they've had 33 inches of snow.

"And that just kept getting wetter and wetter," said Kim Clark, general manager of Ski Bluewood, "and what it's done is loaded the trees up."

The snow-loaded trees are causing an issue to the chairlift and trail; in fact, they've already had to pull a tree off the trail today after last night's snow and wind.

"We're hoping the snow will shed off the limbs of the tree," Clark said. "And when it does, that it should straighten out on the one side after the five inches we got last night."

Although even with one of their main chairlifts down, some skiers made it happen.

"I made the drive, so I'm gonna stick it out," said Bluewood skier Lisa Naylor. "I've got a pass and it's paid for so..."

"When you enjoy something, you find a way to make it happen no matter what's going on," said Naylor's friend.

"This year we've received 303 inches," said Clark. "And we received 130 inches in December alone."

An average year for them - 300 inches - and they still have a month left of the season. They're scheduled to go until April 9th.

"March is definitely going on strong," Clark said. "As I said, 74 inches in the last eleven days."

While he says its no record year for their snowpack, their social media sites have certainly gained quite a bit of traffic for them.

"We started it last year and we put more of a presence on social media."

And within a year, he told us that they have 1400 likes on Facebook and 11,000 on Instagram.

"Much easier to target people interested in outdoor activities," said Clark.

And the skiers definitely agree.

"You're getting your exercise, it's probably the best thing you can do on a winter day, so yeah, every chance I get."

Next season's passes go on sale March 15th. The following is a link to where you can get a pass:

In the aftermath of the Barcelona terrorist attack that left 13 dead and approximately 100 others injured, we hear from someone living right here in Kennewick who's from Barcelona, and had family members near the scene of the attack when it happened.

In the aftermath of the Barcelona terrorist attack that left 13 dead and approximately 100 others injured, we hear from someone living right here in Kennewick who's from Barcelona, and had family members near the scene of the attack when it happened.